November 24, 1998
1) Correction and Addition to Website Special
2) Forever Wild Board Meeting Date Changed
3) Pat Dye for Conservation Commissioner?
4) TVA Announces Shoreline Management Proposal
5) Coalition Confronts Sprawl in Mobile
6) Student Environmental Conference In Tuscaloosa
7) National Audubon Society Celebrates 100 Years
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1. Correction and an Addition to BEN"s Website Special
- Please make one
correction and an addition to your BEN Website list. I knew my
eyesight
would fail me, and unfortunately it did so with one of my favorite
groups -
the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. I wrote down Ruffner's e-mail
address
instead of their website address. Here is the correct address:
http://www.bham.net/ruffner
Thank you Maggie Clancy for pointing this out
to me!
In addition to the Ruffner correction please add the North
Alabama Sierra
Club's website to your list. A very active group in North Alabama,
their
site can be viewed at:
http://advicom.net/~dickc/sierran3.shtml
2. Forever Wild Board Meeting Date Changed - The Forever
Wild Board meeting ,
which was scheduled for Thursday Dec. 3rd, has been changed to
Dec. 4th at
10:00 at the Wehle Nature Center in Barbour County near Eufaula.
For
directions to the Wehle Center, please call the State Lands Division
at
334-242-3484.
3. Pat Dye for Conservation Commissioner? - Much speculation
is circling
Montgomery these days on who is going to replace Conservation
Commissioner
Jim Martin after Governor-elect Don Siegelman takes over. In Sunday's
Birmingham News, Outdoors writer Mike Bolton reported that former
Auburn Head
Coach Pat Dye has been mentioned as a potential candidate. Dye
who has a
popular statewide "outdoor" radio show, expressed interest
in the job in an
interview with Bolton. Another prominent name that has come to
the forefront
is Former Senator Doug Ghee of Anniston. Ghee, who was the chief
sponsor of
the Forever Wild and State Park Bond Constitutional Amendments
was one of
Conservation's biggest supporters during his 8 year tenure as
a state
senator. He also currently serves on Forever Wild's Board of Directors.
With the recent retirements of Charles Kelley at Game and Fish
and Gary Leach
at State Parks and the passage of the $110 million State Parks
Improvement
Bond, the new commisioner will immediately face some important
decisions
that will have long term consequences, potentially positive and
negative, for
Alabama's environment.
4. TVA's Shoreline Proposal and Hearings - After 2 years,
and drawing more
than 9000 comments from the public, TVA has released its latest
shoreline
management proposal for the 11,000 miles of shoreline along the
Tennessee
River system. The proposal offers: a) No new fees. b) Existing
structures,
like docks and established lawns down to the shoreline can remain
under a
"grandfather" clause. c) TVA has reduced the size of
a proposed "shoreline
management zone" (SMZ) in which tree trimming and vegetation
cutbacks are
limited from 100 feet down to 25 feet. d) Currently 13% of the
shoreline is
developed. This proposal will allow the shorelines to be developed
up to 38%
of the overall total within the system. TVA's first proposed allowing
development to reach 48% over the next 25 years.
Many enviros oppose the paltry Shoreline Management Zones and
the almost
three fold increase in development of the shoreline.
Three Shoreline hearings will be held next week in Alabama.
Nov. 30 at the
Holiday Inn in Decatur
Dec. 1 at the Scottsboro Recreation Center in Scottsboro.
The hearings will be held from 5:30 to 8:30. There will likely
be more
meetings in the "Valley" during the early part of December.
5. Coalition Confronts Sprawl in Mobile - According
to a recent Mobile
Register article "urban sprawl has consumed land in Mobile
County at twice
the rate of population growth since 1975, and if trends continue,
the county
could be virtually devoid of undisturbed rural land by the middle
of the 21st
century." Last week more than 60 community leaders including
business,
governmental and environmental interests met to confront this
harsh reality.
Embracing "smart growth", this much needed coalition
is looking into forming
a "site planning roundtable" to address stormwater runoff,
highway projects
and growth. The roundtable is being organized by George Crozier,
director of
the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
6. Alabama Student Environmental Forum - The Alabama
Environmental Council -
University of Alabama Chapter will be holding the 6th Annual Alabama
Student
Environmental Forum Saturday December 5 on the University of Alabama
campus.
This year's forum will focus on Forestry in Alabama. For more
information
about this conference, please contact Elizabeth Tucker at 205-752-9496.
7. Audubon Magazine Special 100th Anniversary Edition
- As a member of the
Birmingham Audubon Society, I not only receive a copy of "Flicker
Flashes",
the local newsletter, but also a subscription of Audubon Magazine.
The
latest Nov/Dec edition of the magazine which is currently on newstands
is a
keeper. Anyone who is interested in the history of Conservation
and the
difference enviros have made this century, ought to buy themselves
a copy. A
wonderful history lesson, I strongly urge folks to look into the
Nov/Dec
edition and also join Audubon in celebrating their 100th year.
Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists.
If you have any questions about BEN, contact Pat Byington at
205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com
